When life hands you lemons…

A perfect glass of lemonade on a warm summer day screams summer to me.  Sharing it with friends makes it taste even better.  And that’s just what we did this weekend.  I’ve tried many recipes  and proportions.  Nothing tasted quite right to me until I found this one.  Its perfect!  Its easy to adjust the sweetness whether I want a really tart glass or a sickeningly sweet glass of lemonade.  My kids enjoy it on the sweet side, so that is usually how I make it.  When I’m pregnant, though, I crave tart flavors, so I cut the sugar amount in half–that’ll make your lips pucker for sure!

Fun lemon facts

• Did you know one lemon tree can produce 500-600 pounds of lemons a year?!
• The British Navy requires boats to carry enough lemons so each sailor can have an ounce a day in order to stave off scurvy among its sailors.
• During the Renaissance, it was high fashion to use lemon juice to redden your lips.
• Historians trace the existence of lemons back to the first century AD.
• 1/2 cup of lemon juice provides 100% of the RDA for Vitamin C (nearly twice that of the same amount of orange juice)

Before juicing your lemons and/or making your lemonade, a few tips.

Choose lemons that are heavy for their size, have a smooth and shiny skin and small points on each end.

If your lemons have been stored in the refrigerator (and they should be if you purchased them more than 3-4 days in advance), allow them to come to room temperature before you begin. If you’re running short on time, fill a bowl with warm water and add the lemons.  Refresh every 5-15 minutes with warm water until lemons are no longer cool.

Prick the skin of your lemons with a fork and microwave your whole lemon for 15-20 seconds.  This will help the juicing process by breaking down the membranes.

With the palm and heel of your hand, roll your lemons on the counter while gently pressing down on it.  After about 30 seconds, you’ll notice that it yields to pressure when you squeeze it (just don’t squeeze the Charmin!).  Continue rolling until it is really soft (2-3 minutes each).  This will further help the membranes to break down, aiding in the juicing process.

If you need just a small amount of lemon juice, poke a skewer or toothpick through the skin of the lemon and squeeze.  You can then put the whole lemon back in the fridge in a plastic bag and it will last longer than if you had cut it.

I like to zest any lemons I buy and freeze it.  Lemon zest adds a real pop to lemon poppyseed muffins, lemon ice cream, lemon pound cake and some pasta dishes.  For ease of zesting, zest the lemons, being careful not to remove the bitter white part, before juicing (ask me how I know!!).  To freeze the zest, I line a small cookie sheet with wax paper.  I make piles of lemon zest of approximately 1/2 tsp zest each.  I freeze the pan until the piles are hard.  I remove the piles and place them into a pint-size ziptop bag; return to freezer.

America’s Test Kitchen recently rated this Amco Enameled Aluminum Lemon Squeezer as their top rated lemon juicer.  It did look very easy to handle and squeeze.  At just $6, I think I may buy it next summer.  For now I have this $2.50 wooden reamer and it works quite well.

Perfectly-perfect Lemonade
Makes 2.5 quarts

1 1/2 cups fresh-squeezed lemon juice (6-8 lemons)
8 cups water
1-1 1/2 cups sugar, to taste

Combine sugar and 1 cup of water in a small pan.  Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the sugar.  Cool to room temperature, cover and chill in the fridge.  Juice lemons (I leave the pulp).  Combine lemon juice, cooled sugar syrup and 7 cups water (I use about 4 cups water and then the remainder of crushed ice).

This lemonade is pretty sweet.  If you like a tart lemonade, use 1 cup of sugar to make the syrup and add more after combining all ingredients, if needed.  If you prefer a middle-of-the-road lemonade, I’d suggest using 1 1/4 cups sugar when you make the syrup and then add more at the very end as needed.  Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint or add a slice of lemon, lime or strawberry to the rim of the glasses.

Club soda can be used in place of the regular water if you like a fizzy lemonade.

This recipe linked to:
Tuesday Tastes @ Crazy Daisy Place
Tuesdays at the Table @ All The Small Stuff
Tempt my Tummy Tuesday @ Blessed with Grace
Tip Day Thursday @ Around My Family Table